Going Past Limits of ‘Hilburnism’

While it wasn’t shocking to read pop music critic Robert Hilburn’s article “1995: Nothin’ but a She Thing” (Calendar, Dec. 30), it was simply what I feared it would be. As I have found many times in the past, I was reading an article by a man who is more impressed with SoundScan numbers (the music industry’s computerized system that calculates the actual amount of CDs sold by each individual artist) rather than the quality of the music. This “year in review” article as well as the others reek of what I call Hilburnism.

So what is Hilburnism? Seemingly it is the inability to discover new music on one’s own whereby forcing his readers to believe that any album that sells more than 1 million copies (or is associated in some way with something that is hip) must be inherently good.

While it is extremely hard for me to believe that Hilburn comes home from a hard day at the office and puts a 2Pac or TLC compact disc into his stereo, I will go along with it. But I do find it impossible to believe that Hilburn finds the Alanis Morissette song “You Oughta Know” on the album “Jagged Little Pill” one of the most “compelling” singles of 1995. Furthermore, it is plainly evident that Morissette is simply last year’s flavor of the month just like Milli Vanilli, Ace of Base, the Bay City Rollers or Andy Gibb were before her.

I’m here to remind you, Mr. Hilburn, that some of us listen to much more compelling (i.e. interesting, fun, angry, popular, you fill in your own definition of compelling) music that doesn’t quite sell as well as that album but is nowhere near the fluff you are touting. If there is one word that accurately describes the article you wrote and the majority of those you write, it is “safe.”

Furthermore, since I was in high school I cannot remember a year when Hilburn did not pick one mega-selling artist (take your pick . . . Springsteen, NIN, Hole, Neil Young, U2, PJ Harvey, etc.) and write about that artist over and over again throughout the year. Wouldn’t you think writing about Trent Reznor every other week to be boring? Obviously, I am exaggerating a bit, but if I read yet another article on Courtney Love I am going to go out of my mind. There are other bands out there, Mr. Hilburn.

While this may seem a very trivial matter in the grand scheme of things, there is a very strong point to make here. That point is, that while I can see writing about the most popular artists in America, there are literally thousands of bands that need the exposure of The Times that are being overlooked.

Why not write about the new Julian Cope album on American? Or the new SF Seals album on Matador? Or the new Pere Ubu record on Tim/Kerr? Or the Bomboras record on Dionysus? Talented artists like these are just as important, if not more important, to pop music if for no other reason than they are damn good albums.

And good rather than hip should be your only barometer, Mr. Hilburn, simply because you can actually influence the way people perceive music as well as help them make up their minds as to what music they purchase.

With that in mind, I hope you remember that there’s a whole big wide musical world out there, and I suggest you go out there and spend $50 at a record store and discover it.